We shouldn’t have been surprised to see a modicum of profit-taking this week after last week’s efforts, which saw the United States broad-ranging S&P 500 stock market index go up for nine days in a row to post its longest daily winning streak in 20 years, coupled with the ASX 200 index ending a 12-day winning streak.
US economic data added a fresh twist to market jitters for the week, with first-quarter GDP dipping by 0.3 per cent - a headline drop that at first glance looked like a red flag. Scratch beneath the surface and a different story emerges.
This wasn’t about an economy slowing down - it was about businesses going into overdrive, racing to import a flood of goods before new US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs kick in. The result was a 50.9 per cent surge in imports that technically dragged GDP lower, thanks to how the number crunchers calculate growth.
Amazingly, for all the hand-wringing and wailing that came off the back of Trump’s ‘liberation day’ blockbuster tariff announcement at the start of last month, the key Australian index closed out the week at 8231. This was 285 points or 3.4 per cent higher than its close prior to the fateful announcement and the S&P is, by and large, unchanged.
With a rollercoaster week came yet more glory for gold, which hit a high price of $3438 an ounce on Wednesday on the back of a resumption of hostilities between Pakistan and India - two nuclear powers with age-old claims on the disputed state of Kashmir.
XPON TECHNOLOGIES GROUP LTD (ASX: XPN)
up 400% (0.6c – 3.0c)
This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is artificial intelligence and technology solutions provider XPON Technologies Group, which saw its share price rocket on Monday after it announced a binding agreement to snap up leading Australian digital marketing outfit Alpha Digital Design Consultants.
XPON’s acquisition of Alpha Digital, a long-term channel partner with a crack team of 25 digital marketing specialists, is a savvy attempt to supercharge its revenue growth. The deal is set to bring in an additional $4.6 million in revenue and a $0.7M EBITDA based on last year’s financials - plus a cool $1M cash in the bank.
XPON’s share price screamed up 400 per cent on Monday from a Friday close of 0.6 cents to an intraday high of 3c. Punters piled in, with trading volumes lighting up the ASX boards as investors bet big on this AI-meets-marketing mashup.
XPON says Alpha isn’t just a bolt-on, like-for-like addition, it’s a turbo boost for XPON’s journey to positive cash flow and profitability.
Management says Alpha Digital’s expertise in performance marketing, SEO and analytics meshes well with XPON’s AI-powered solutions. The combo promises juicy revenue synergies, offering clients a one-stop shop for integrated technologies and marketing wizardry.
The deal will see Alpha Digital keep its branding and operate independently, ensuring its market mojo stays intact while it taps into XPON’s tech muscle.
XPON’s share price went ballistic on Monday to scream up 400 per cent from a Friday close of 0.6 cents to an intraday high of 3c. Punters piled in, with trading volumes lighting up the ASX boards as investors bet big on this AI-meets-marketing mashup.
With digital marketing hotter than a summer barbie and AI driving the next wave of innovation, XPON’s move positions it to gobble up market share. If the company can harness those synergies and keep the cash flowing, this acquisition could be the spark that lights its fire for years to come.
LOCKSLEY RESOURCES LTD (ASX: LKY)
up 160% (2.2c – 5.7c)
Taking home the Runners silver medal this week is critical minerals explorer Locksley Resources, which saw its share price erupt on Thursday after the company dropped a strategic update on its Mojave project in California.
Locksley’s Mojave project is in prime real estate for critical minerals, as it sits just 1.4 kilometres northeast of Mountain Pass - the globally significant and only US rare earths mine.
Locksley’s share price went ballistic on the news to skyrocket 159 per cent to a high of 5.7c on Thursday from a close of 2.2c last week. A jaw-dropping 187 million shares traded hands - more than the company’s entire 147 million shares on issue - making it the ASX’s wildest ride this week.
The company has formally lodged drilling permits with the US Bureau of Land Management. Trump’s executive order pushing for home-grown critical minerals seems to have positioned Lockyer’s project to become a serious domestic lithium supplier.
A critical minerals boom is well underway in the US, as the nation attempts to quickly counter China’s rare earths stranglehold, and the markets can smell blood.
Rock chips from Mojave’s Desert antimony mine are already screaming with grades up to 46 per cent antimony and 1022 grams per tonne (g/t) silver. Its nearby El Campo prospect is dishing out 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), including 3.19 per cent all-important neodymium-praseodymium elements.
Locksley’s timing couldn’t be better. The bureau has also given a thumbs-up to ASX-listed Dateline Resources’ nearby Colosseum project to explore and extract gold and rare earth elements – which Trump then touted in a weekly update on his Truth Social network. The developments signal that Mojave is open for business.
With the US government desperate to secure a supply of rare earths and antimony, Locksley’s Mojave project is like a shiny new toy in a critical minerals candy store. If the drill rigs hit the jackpot, this could be the kind of project that gives investors a fabled black swan event.
Locksley Resources has applied for drilling permits at its Mojave critical metals project in the United States, near Dateline Resources’ Colosseum project and the US’s only rare earths mine, the globally renowned Mountain Pass. Credit: File.
DY6 METALS LTD (ASX: DY6)
up 109% (6.7c – 14c)
Stepping up to the Runners podium for the second time in as many weeks is rare earth elements and heavy minerals exploration company DY6 Metals.
This week’s feeding frenzy continued following the company’s earlier bombshell revelation that historical drilling at its Tundulu rare earths project in Malawi had uncovered some seriously spicy gallium grades. Gallium is now a red-hot critical mineral.
The share price volatility, however, was not for the faint hearted, dropping almost 65 per cent from last week’s highs of 18.5 cent at one point before regaining its composure.
The headline numbers included 74 metres grading 93.3g/t gallium oxide with 1.56 per cent TREO from 72m, and 53m at 72.8g/t gallium with 1.02 per cent TREO.
The results pushed the stock’s price up 340 per cent to a peak of 18.5c in a single hour last week, before the fun police at the ASX stepped in with a screeching halt to demand more paperwork.
The gallium find is especially timely. China, which controls 94 per cent of global supply, is tightening its export controls while global demand is soaring for the semiconductor-critical metal.
Intriguingly, DY6’s gallium mineralisation shows up in surface saprolite and deeper fresh rock, with the system still open at depth. Only 40 per cent of the 91.5 square kilometre project has been drill-tested.
Following the juicy findings, the company will shortly kick off metallurgical test work on a bulk sample to determine the prospect’s economic viability. With fresh gallium in the mix, Tundulu’s rare earth basket could now deliver a whole lot more bang for buck.
Arizona Lithium (ASX: AZL)
up 85% (0.07c – 1.3c)
Taking out the final spot and prize for the most curious share price run this week is Arizona Lithium. Extreme volumes of nearly 205 million shares were traded across the week, while equally big licks were being mopped up on the US-based OTC market.
Although the company hasn’t released any news, it does hold an intriguing land package, the Big Sandy lithium project, which is just a stone’s throw from….you guessed it, the Mountain Pass rare earths mine.
Big Sandy’s claim to fame is a massive sedimentary lithium deposit, which contains an indicated resource of 14.6 million tonnes grading 1940 parts per million for 150,900 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. Adding to the inventory, the deposit also holds 17.9Mt in the inferred category for a further 169,900t lithium carbonate equivalent.
Whether Arizona’s share price run is on the back of its lithium or simply a piece of good, old-fashioned nearology is anyone’s guess. Until the reason behind the move becomes public knowledge, harsher critics might suggest everyone is getting on board because… everyone is getting on board. For now, the party is in full swing and the champagne corks are flying.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Andrew Todd
